Oath Maker
by FallowFawn1996
Summary: What if Bale had never died? A retelling of OB with romantic drama. An Ocean-Forest alliance reveals an arranged marriage between Bale and Renn. How will this affect the story and T&B's hunt for Thiazzi? Love triangle Renn-Bale-Torak. T/M for later chaps.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all, I'm back for my second big COAD story. This will follow the plot of Oath Breaker but with a few twists and of course, the inclusion of Bale. I look forward to reading your reviews! I know the COAD community is quite small but even 1 review will keep me going. Thank you!

ooooo

Torak was suddenly awake. The sound of a raw scream assaulted his ears, shattering the still morning silence. He heard it again, outside the shelter. It sounded inhuman, like an animal being ripped in two. Within seconds he was on his feet and outside, shivering as the first streak of dawn had only just appeared in the eastern sky.

Detlan's mother had broken down at the feet of the seal leader.

His little sister fell to her knees by her mother, her whole body convulsing with uncontrollable sobs. The seal leader put his firm hands on their shoulders. He saw Bale further back behind the leader, his face barely visible in the dark, but Torak could see that his face was crumpled and streaked with tears. What had happened whilst he was on watch with Detlan?

Torak cast about, seeing others quickly emerging from their whalebone shelters. The camp was dark, dawn had not yet illuminated it fully, and the low heat of the camp's fire cast a shimmering smoky haze over the camp. Renn and Fin-Kedinn had woken and were standing beside him at the mouth of the shelter. They looked on, helpless as the Seals gathered around the grieving family. Islinn met Fin-Kedinn's eyes across the gathering crowd, carrying in them a heavy sadness which confirmed Torak's suspicions.

'What's happened?' breathed Renn. She looked wide-eyed up at Torak, '…Detlan?' His eyes told her the answer. She put her hand over her mouth. Bale was keening, now crying in the arms of his father for his lost kinsman and the guilt that was bearing down on him. They were on watch together. It was heartbreaking to Torak and Renn to see their strong friend completely broken. Torak was about to go to his side but Fin-Kedinn held him back. 'Let him be for a while.'

Islinn stood as Asrif sat and put his arms around Bale. He addressed his clan before him, his voice raw with pain. 'Our brave hunter has fallen from the Crag. We will begin the funeral rites today and move the camp south so that he who has passed's shelter can be set ablaze. We must prepare him now for the Death Journey.'

Many people were now grieving as the news was told. Detlan's mother and sister were beside themselves with grief, their cries were unbearable to hear. Torak put his arm around Renn when he saw a tear roll down her cheek. She leaned into him. Fin-Kedinn watched the Seal Clan with steady blue eyes which had known the grip of grief many a time. He wondered what had happened for the boys to be separated when they were on watch together.

ooooo

The sun glinted off juniper thorns and dewy grass as the three friends climbed the steep footpath towards the Crag. They walked silently save for the rasp of their breath and the noise of the ocean lapping at the shore far below. Fin-Kedinn, who had stayed behind to prepare for the funeral rites, had urged the three of them to take a look at the Crag where Detlan had fallen from. Torak and Renn knew from his request that he suspected something more sinister than an accident had taken place, though neither of them voiced it to each other or to poor Bale, who hadn't spoken a word since the incident happened.

Detlan's bootprints and the blunt dent of his crutch stick were unmistakable. Torak squatted down to examine some dew trails, and he risked a glance up at his kinsman. Bale looked as if he were in a dream. Torak felt for him, he knew how deeply the feeling of guilt and the pain of grief could seep into your soul. He could only imagine how he would be feeling if it were his kinsman Bale who had fallen whilst he were on watch. He wanted to ask Bale why him and Detlan had separated during the night, but he doubted he would answer him, the pain was still too raw.

'He was definitely alone coming up this path' Torak said, his voice sounding loud on the hushed hillside. 'Let's keep going.'

They continued upward on the steep path, Torak tracking at the front, Renn following behind and Bale at the rear. Even three fit young teenagers found the trek difficult, and they were out of breath by the time they reached the high summit.

The neck of the Crag was shaggy with rowan and juniper, but from there it broadened into a huge, flat boat shape of rock jutting over the sea. Long ago, the surface had been hammer-etched with a silvery web of hunters and prey. In the middle squatted a grey granite altar shaped like a fish. Torak swallowed. Two summers before, the Seal Mage had tied him to that altar and prepared to cut out his heart. He could still feel the granite digging into his shoulder blades, still hear the click of Tokoroth's claws. Renn coughed, and Torak was brought back to the present. _Don't think about that._ Think about this. Do this for Detlan and Bale.

The crag glistened with dew. It was naked rock. It would be hard to find any trace of what had happened up here to Detlan. Torak assumed he had walked to the edge and somehow tripped on his crutches to have fallen as he did. From the neck, he scanned the Crag. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't work out what. For Detlan to have fallen from this specific area… and at the time when they had been summoned to this island because of potential Soul Eater disturbances… was there a connection?

He hadn't gone far when he found more signs. Faint bootprints, larger than Detlan's. Worse still, snagged in a crack, a strand of reindeer hair. Torak's skin crawled. Detlan wore seal hide. No seal would wear Reindeer at this time of year. This proposed that there had been another person up here on the Crag. A big, heavy man clad in reindeer hide. At once a name sprang to mind, but Torak pushed it aside. Don't guess. Keep your mind open. Find proof.

'I don't think he was up here alone,' said Torak, giving a wary look to his friends.

'You don't mean…?' Renn trailed off, unable to say it. Bale tightened his lip and remained silent.

Torak got back to work, scouring the edge of the cliff where he saw Detlan's faint prints. It looked as if he had been standing still, the larger bootprints creeping up from behind. Torak swallowed thickly as he picked up a tiny crumb from a crack in the rock. Spruce-blood. He drew aside a brach to reveal a handprint. Dread dropped like a hot stone in Torak's belly. Renn breathed in with a gasp. Detlan's murderer had leaned on one hand to watch his victim fall. That hand only had three fingers.

'Thiazzi' breathed Torak, remembering Wolf leaping at the man, snapping off two fingers with a twist of his jaws. He looked up at them. 'One of the two remaining Soul Eaters.'

'So now we know,' Bale spoke for the first time in a cold, distant voice.

The Oak Mage had made no attempt to cover his tracks after the murder, almost as if he wished for them to follow. He'd found his way down the steep north flank of the Crag to a small pebbly stretch of beach, where he'd taken his skinboat and paddled away. They had tracked him to where his trail ended in the ocean, they could go no further.

'He might be anywhere by now,' said Renn. 'He could've made for the Kelp Island, or one of the smaller ones, or back to the Forest.'

'And he's got a head start,' said Bale. 'We better get going as quickly as we can.'

To return to camp, they had to retrace the route up to the Crag and back down. When they returned to the stone altar, Renn noticed that something was subtly wrong with its placement. 'The Elk's head isn't meant to be obscured like that…'

'It's been moved,' Torak said, appalled that he hadn't noticed it earlier. The scrape marks were as clear to him as a squirrel on a winter's branch. He pictured Thiazzi and all his strength, easily pushing the solid stone altar aside, then moving it back, leaving it ever so slightly out of place. Another deliberate clue for them to follow. Under the tip of the altar, they found what Thiazzi had taken.

A small empty bag of dehaired seal hide, just the right size to hold a large pebble.

Torak's blood pounded in his ears. He heard Renn's urgent voice as if from far away. 'He found it Torak, Thiazzi has the fire-opal.'

ooooo

On the walk back down to camp, Bale was deep in thought. He recalled being taken into his father's shelter earlier and recounting what had happened to him, Fin-Kedinn and the other elders of the Clan. He'd been barely able to talk and was deeply ashamed of their fight, but had somehow managed to tell them what had happened.

'I d-didn't think anything of it. W-we check up there all the time when on watch' he'd breathed, his eyes on the floor of the shelter. 'I should have gone up there with him! He was using his crutch, I- I should have gone too. I-I heard him scream as he fell.'

He felt the eyes of all the elders on him, blaming him, scolding him for his actions. His father had placed a large steady hand on his shoulder and asked the dreaded question. 'Why did you split up?'

'I- We …had a fight. I know he's been taking some of my stuff. I confronted him about it. He denied it…' Bale had sucked in a shaky breath. 'We fought about it and I told him to go away. He- he went off on his own and that's the last I saw of him. I shouldn't have let him go…'

'It's not your fault Bale.' his father had said. 'Sometimes accidents happen. He who has passed today simply fell, he was not himself on those crutches, he must have lost his balance.' The leader had drawn a deep breath and helped him to his feet. Bale had leaned against him. 'Even if you had been up there too, you don't know if you could have grabbed him in time. And as for your argument, we won't tell anyone. These things happen between friends. Please don't torture yourself anymore.'

Bale finished recalling the incidents of the morning as they approached camp. How ashamed he felt… he didn't want to see anyone. He just wanted to find the Oak Mage.

The whole camp was busy moving their shelters, belongings and equipment to the south side of the island. The body of the recently deceased was now outside by the sea's edge, a cloth draped over him. Death marks had been drawn and the preparation for the send-off had begun. Bale tried not to look at it. Detlan's souls would still be near, and they must be furious with him. They caught Fin-Kedinn just as he was about to leave his shelter to prepare his mask of mourning. Soundlessly, they all ushered him back inside to speak in private. Renn covered the entrance of the shelter, so that they would not be heard.

'What's going on? What is it?' Fin-Kedinn asked, though he knew deep down why this boy had fallen from the Seal Mage's haunt. He didn't want to believe it until there was evidence.

'We were on the Crag, looking for De-' Torak covered his mouth. '_His_ tracks. We found another pair up there. We found huge bootprints, reindeer hair, spruce-blood crumbs…'

'There was a handprint uncle,' continued Renn in an urgent hushed tone. 'It had three fingers!'

'It was Thiazzi, he did this. He pushed him from behind,' Torak said with a deep breath. 'He was murdered.'

'We followed his tracks down to the shore, where he had hidden a skinboat. He's gone but we don't know where, but what's worse is…' she exchanged glances with Torak and Bale. 'He pushed aside the old Seal Clan Mage's altar and took the fire-opal.'

There was a moment of tense silence. Sunlight filtered into the shelter through tiny cracks in the hide. The three youths looked at the eldest, waiting for his decision. The raven leader thought fast, his thoughts darting like minnows. He assumed that Bale had not told them about him and Detlan's argument, he would keep the secret safe. Unbeknownst to the three of them, he had also just made a deal with the Seal Leader about his son's future with his niece. The alliance had been planned for a good few summers now, but it had been cemented today.

He needed to keep his future son in law, his niece and his foster son safe, but also allow them to fulfil the destinies against the Soul Eaters which he knew they must. He swallowed thickly and stood up straight.

'Tell no one,' said Fin-Kedinn. 'Not that he was murdered, or who did it, or why.'

Renn was aghast, 'not even his mother and sister?'

Fin-Kedinn looked at each in turn, his eyes finally resting on Bale, who had remained silent. Who knew what damage Thiazzi could do with the fire-opal…it was vital that no one knew the truth about Detlan's tragic end. Maybe that way he could protect them all in the long run.

'No one.'

ooooo

Thank you for reading. Please let me know your thoughts! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry that this took so long to post! I have just read Viper's Daughter and I've plunged headfirst back into the COAD world. It feels good to be back! I'm going to be posting more story now as COVID 19 means more time to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter and once again apologies to those who have been waiting for an update!

ooooo

Bale squatted by the stream at the south end of the bay with Torak, Renn and the leader of the Raven Clan. They were applying clay mourning masks to each other in the low light of dusk. Beside the roar of the waterfall, they could not be overheard talking about the murder by the Seal women downstream or by the men readying Detlan's skinboat for the Death Journey. He preferred to be in the company of his Forest friends at this time. He could not look at Detlan's family, or Asrif, or Islinn or any of them wearing their Seal clothes, all feeling his friend's death as keenly as himself. The whole camp had been moved during the day, every shelter and all its trappings and down to every last rack of cod was now on the south end of the bay, as far away as possible from Detlan's old shelter he shared with his mother and sister, which had been doused and set alight. To the north, he could make out the burning home, an orange dot of fire against the gathering blue darkness.

'But I still think it's wrong to keep it from his family,' said Renn beside him. They had been talking in secret about the murder.

'It's necessary.' Her uncle caught her gaze and held it sternly. 'Think about it Renn. If Islinn knew about how his son died, he'd seek revenge and he wouldn't ever stop.'

'Yes, so?' she retorted.

'He wouldn't be alone in his revenge, the whole clan would find out and go with him. They'd want to avenge one of their own, he who died was well-loved by the whole Clan.'

'So? Let them go' she repeated whilst she brushed clay onto her uncle's high boned face. He fixed her a hard stare.

'I know the Oak Mage,' he said. 'He won't hide away in the islands, he'll head straight back to the Forest where his power is strongest. He's probably gone via the trading route on the coast, it's the fastest way.'

Bale reflected on his own plans as he listened to them. He wanted to go to the mainland and hunt down this Mage, he wouldn't rest until he could no matter what Fin-Kedinn said. Torak seemed to sense his motives as he daubed clay on his head. 'If the Seals come after him, he'd set them against the other clans and escape.' Torak said in a deliberate tone.

The Raven Leader nodded. 'That's why we have to stay quiet. The Sea Clans and the Forest Clans have never been on easy terms. Thiazzi would play them off each other easily, that's his greatest strength, he fosters hate. Promise me all three of you,' he looked at them each in turn 'tell no one.'

'We promise,' they answered in unison. Bale found this promise easy to adhere to. He didn't want his Clan going after Thiazzi. He alone wanted revenge for what he had caused, maybe then he could finally forgive himself for what he had done to Detlan.

'But what about his fingernails?' said Renn worriedly. 'Surely someone doing the death rites saw?'

'No, I saw to it,' said Fin-Kedinn. With the clay marks on his face, his features looked exaggerated in the dark light. He appeared forbidding and deathly, his blue eyes turned dark in the night. He stood and motioned to them. 'Come, it's time we joined the others.'

It was a clear night at the end of the Moon of the Cod Run, or as the Forest people called it, the Birchblood Moon. There was no moon above them in the gathering twilight, only the glitter of hard bright stars. On the shore, the Seal Clan had made a circle of torches propped up in the sand. Tall plumes of orange fire and thick eye-watering smoke rose from each one, casting dancing light on the body of Detlan, laid in the centre on his skinboat. Bale felt his eyes stinging from the burning seal oil, good, let it hurt, he thought. The clay was stiffening on his skin. He cast a glance around at his clan and at his friends from the Forest. Their faces were all grey and their expressions were empty. Again it hit him, his friend, his age-mate, his kinsman, his friend he had played with since they could walk, was gone.

His father began the funeral rites. Detlan's body was covered with his sleeping sack. After this, every member of the Clan came and gave a gift for him for the Death Journey. When it was his turn, he gave him his favourite harpoon spear, but even as he laid it in the skinboat, he felt that it was it pitifully lacking. Others gave clothes, nets, tools, dried fish, fishing hooks and rope. Fin-Kedinn gifted a fine pair of intricately carved fishing-hooks, Renn her three best arrows, and Torak gave his pike-jaw amulet which he said brought good hunting luck. Even with all the gifts, it somehow wasn't enough in Bale's eyes.

Standing on the edge of the beach, the crowd parted as the men raised the skinboat on their shoulders and carried it down to the shallows. They latched rocks on either end of the boat and made their final farewells. As Detlan's father had passed, Bale's father took the bittersweet honour of towing the boy out to sea. The others trudged back for the silent feast, but Bale remained, watching the two boats until they were specks in the sea and the darkness of night had swallowed them from sight. When they were out of sight of the island, his father would spear Detlan's boat and he would sink down to the Sea Mother. The thought left him cold and desolate.

Why had he confronted Detlan so harshly about taking his weapons? He felt pathetic and sick thinking that all of this came down to some stolen harpoons.

It didn't even matter now. He tried in vain to remind himself that it was Thiazzi who had killed his friend, but still the guilt remained in his gut like a heavy stone.

Torak was speaking his name. 'Bale, come join the feast. It's getting cold.'

'I can't' he said without turning around.

'Come on, please. We're waiting for you.'

'I can't! I have to go after Thiazzi!'

'It's night time, and there's no moon, you can't leave now,' Torak reasoned. He stepped closer to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'We'll head out first thing in the morning. You should honour your kinsman first with everyone at the feast.'

'Honour _my kinsman? _That's what we have to call him now isn't it. For five whole summers until we all forget his name, forget him.' Bale knew he was speaking irrationally, his voice sounded harsh, as if it were someone else talking.

'We'll never forget him, nor will every person in this Clan, but we have to do this. You know that.' Torak said, trying to reason with him and failing. Bale turned to face him and saw his friend's concern for him. Somehow this made him more angry.

'Detlan.' Bale said deliberately. 'His name was Detlan.'

Torak withdrew his hand in alarm. 'Bale! Don't-'

'Detlan Detlan Detlan!' he shouldered past him and ran across the beach into the forest edge. He sped up the length of the bay heading north towards the crackling ruins of his kinsman's shelter. '_Detlan!_' he shouted into the night. If it summoned his friend's vengeful spirit then let it. It was _his_ fault that Detlan lay at the bottom of the sea. If they hadn't quarrelled, then he wouldn't have been alone on the Crag. They would have faced the Oak Mage together, and Detlan would still be alive.

_It was his fault._

'Bale!' Torak had caught up with him, and now stood regaining his breath on the edge of the burning shelter. His friend's tan skin glowed copper in the light, suddenly he looked far older than his fifteen summers. 'Stop naming him! You'll draw his spirit!'

'Let him come and haunt me, it's only what I deserve!' he spat, raking his hands through his long fair hair in despair.

'But you didn't kill him, Thiazzi did!' he insisted.

'But it's my fault Torak!' he looked up at him with tear studded eyes. 'How do I live with that?'

Torak had no reply. Bale took out his knife and cut a slash in his palm, not even wincing. The blood trickled onto his blade which he raised to the sky. 'I swear to you Detlan, my friend, I will avenge your death! I swear on my knife and my three souls, I _will_ avenge you!'

ooooo

The next morning dawned bright and clear and blue. The sunshine normally brought a happy momentum with it to the Seal Clan camp, which was usually noisy, busy and full of activity. But, after the death of their loved one, the camp was subdued and quiet. Waves lapped softly on the shore, the foam bubbling and sinking into the pebbly bay. The gentle breeze stirred the smoke of people's fires and lifted the branches which struck out over the camp from the forest behind. Chunks of cod and haddock smoked nearby, releasing a delicious smell. It was a beautiful scene, marred only by the knowledge of what had happened the night before. Fin-Kedinn watched as Torak, Renn and Bale worked preparing their skin boats and supplies for the trip back to the Forest. Usually, the trio was laughing and joking around when they were together, but he could see even from this distance that they were quieter, and the youthful playfulness had gone.

He was concerned about Bale the most. The thirst for revenge was all-consuming and left you empty, cold and unfulfilled after the deed was done. He wished that this hunt for Thiazzi was on the basis of him being a Soul Eater alone, and not tangled up with the more complicated emotional motives of revenge and grief. Torak too, he knew, was itching to avenge Detlan at Bale's side. Torak's destiny was to vanquish Thiazzi and Eostra, that he was sure of. He was worried for the two of them, and for his niece who would undoubtedly be a part of their journey.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his name being called from Islinn's shelter. It was time to talk about their alliance.

'Come in, come in,' beckoned Islinn. The shelter was large and strewn with comfortable woven mats made from reeds and platforms of fur wrapped around dried grass and branches to sit on. The ceiling was tall enough to stand in and a large smoke hole filled the floor with sunlight. It was a warm place full of love. Fin-Kedinn sat by the hearth and poured himself a cup of hot birch bark tea as the Seal Clan leader called his son Bale into the shelter. He never was too good at these sort of things, but it had to be done sooner or later.

'Sit Bale sit,' Islinn guided his son to the fire and the three of them sat together, the Seal Clan leader stirred the kindling with a long stick which was crackling in the pit of hot ash, then added more dried wood, stacking it up into a triangular shape for ventilation. Fin-Kedinn noticed that Bale was looking apprehensive, as well he should. A private council with two Clan leaders was never to be taken lightly. Islinn cleared his throat and began. 'I know how upset you are with everything that happened yesterday Bale, and we had hoped to tell you this news under different circumstances. But, maybe this will help to elevate the sadness which we are all feeling. We've called you in here to discuss some plans regarding your future my son. As you have now reached your seventeenth summer, you're more than ready to begin seeking a mate, building your own shelter and within the next few summers, starting your own family.'

'Yes father.' Bale said, looking warier by the second.

'We,' Islinn motioned to Fin-Kedinn, 'decided to strengthen the ties between the Sea and the Forest many summers ago.'

He looked over at Fin-Kedinn and he continued. 'When Renn's father passed when she was seven and she came under my care, I have come to see her as my own daughter. I've taken on the responsibility of her welfare and, when she comes of age to choose a mate, he will have to be approved by me.' Fin-Kedinn noticed a flicker of realisation cross Bale's features. 'Soon, she will be approaching sixteen summers old. I want to make sure that she has a man who will look after her, respect her, and compliment her destiny as a Mage. Ideally, the son of a leader. No one but the best will do for my niece, and I'm sure your father feels the same about Renn.'

'I agree, Renn is a capable Mage already at her age. It makes sense for her to marry a young man who will become a leader.'

Bale was looking at them both with wide-eyes. 'Are you suggesting me?'

'You've been in an arranged marriage with her for quite some time Bale,' said Islinn giving him a small smile. 'If you and her get along, then we can expect a great alliance between our two Clans. It will benefit everyone. The Ocean and Forest Clans have not been on good terms recently. We are hoping that this will be a firm step forward in bringing all the Clans together.'

Fin-Kedinn could see the shock on the young man's face.

Fin-Kedinn spoke to soften the blow. 'Renn still has one summer before she is able to seek a mate under Clan Law. This arrangement will not come into effect before then. We've decided not to tell Renn for now until she's of age and ready to process all this properly, and…' he glanced at Islinn, knowing the destruction the Soul Eaters have caused to his Clan. 'We want to wait until there is more peace before the two of you wed.'

'Of course,' Bale said softly. 'If she does agree next summer, or whenever it will be, will she live here with me?'

Fin-Kedinn tried not to feel sad at the thought of his Renn leaving him so soon, but he knew that she would inevitably find a mate at some point. His mind briefly flashed to Torak, but he pushed that aside. No time to think about that now. 'Of course.'

Bale seemed to be accepting this possibility and he nodded to himself. 'Alright, I'm not against this arrangement. I had actually… thought of asking Renn at some point,' he blushed a little and shifted on his seat. 'Up until what happened yesterday…I was planning on asking her to stay here, with me.'

'Well Fin-Kedinn, it looks like our work will be easy!' Islinn grinned, beyond happy to have some good news. Fin-Kedinn smiled fondly, remembering from long ago that feeling of nervous early love. It looked like it could be easier than he thought to secure Renn a safe and happy life in the long run. One she would definitely have a tougher time with if she chose Torak. Again, Fin-Kedinn pushed this thought away.

'Now we just have to hope that Renn will take this news as easily' he said with a smile to the two Seals.

'Father, whilst you're here, I want to ask you whether it's alright if I go to the Forest for a while to get my mind off things. I enjoyed my time there before and I'd like to go again for a while.' Bale hated lying to his father, but Fin-Kedinn was right there and he had to keep his promise to tell no one of Thiazzi.

'Of course. It'll do you good to go and be with friends. I entrust my son into your care Fin-Kedinn,' Bale's father said, crossing his fists across his chest, Fin-Kedinn returned the gesture and the meeting was over.

ooooo

Bale left the shelter and blinked in the bright sunlight. He felt utterly dazed and overwhelmed. Down on the shore past the humped shelters, he saw Renn anew. She was a great friend, beautiful, talented, brave, kind and clever. With a softness in his heart he hoped very much that in time when he asked her, she would choose to adhere to this arranged marriage.

He had no idea how she stood with Torak, who was closer to her in age and her best friend. Neither of them had ever shown any romantic inclinations to each other, and Torak had definitely never said anything to him about it. For now, he pushed the thoughts aside. The pain of Detlan's passing was still too raw for him to consider his romantic feelings for Renn. Maybe once the grief had lessened its hold on him, he would be better able to process all of this.

Bale made his way down to the shore to his friends and began helping them pack the skinboats for the journey to the mainland.

'What was that about?' asked Renn, tying sinew rope around their packs to keep them secure.

'Oh nothing, just about me leaving the Seals for a while and coming with you to the Forest,' he replied, only half lying, though he still felt bad. 'I told him it was to get my mind off things, nothing about the real reason.'

Torak looked over his shoulder as Fin-Kedinn exited Islinn's shelter and went into theirs. 'He'll be getting his belongings ready for the boat now. We can leave soon Bale.'

It was swift work but the four of them were ready to depart by mid-morning. Fin-Kedinn prompted Torak to share his boat so that Renn and Bale could share the other one. It was a small gesture but didn't go unnoticed, Bale thought he saw a brief look on Torak's face at being separated from her, but he could have imagined it. The two skin boats bobbed in the shallow waves as they shouted goodbyes to the Seal Clan waving them off. With purpose, the four of them set out across the sea.

ooooo


End file.
